50 signatures reached
To: The New Zealand Government
End the US Blockade of Cuba - End the false Terrorist label - Provide economic aid
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To help Cuba today, the New Zealand government needs to do more than just vote at the United Nations in favour of ending the US economic blockade and sanctions on Cuba, and in favour of ending the US classification of Cuba as a "State Sponsor of Terrorism".
The New Zealand government should actively support the expansion of trade with Cuba and make New Zealand banks' compliance with the financial sanctions the US imposes unlawful.
Because the recent hurricanes have done enormous damage to Cuba, the New Zealand government needs to provide immediate food and economic aid.
Why is this important?
As people with great compassion for the world's wellbeing, humanitarian issues are of deep concern to the people of Aotearoa. Cuba is in the midst of an ongoing humanitarian crisis, and October’s widespread power outages are only adding to the Cuban people’s troubles. For the last six decades, Cuba has been on the receiving end of myriad sanctions by the United States government. This blockade has proved devastating to human life. The people of Cuba need international support to repair the damage wrought by these sanctions, and we can achieve this by providing food and aid.
According to the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), Hurricane Rafael caused widespread destruction, primarily in the province of Artemisa. OCHA reports:
According to the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), Hurricane Rafael caused widespread destruction, primarily in the province of Artemisa. OCHA reports:
The impact of Hurricane Rafael has so far left (damage is still quantified), some 25,471 homes with various damages, concentrating its impact in the province of Artemisa with more than 83% of the damage. Severe effects predominate considering the ravages of strong category 3 winds. As a result, some 92,000 victims have been identified. At the same time, around 60,000 people (20,000 families) have been identified with severe problems in accessing electricity; they have had coverage with small photovoltaic systems as an immediate alternative, among others to access water. At the same time, damage to the conventional power grid has affected an additional 305,000 people. [...]
With Hurricane Rafael, a total of 144 health institutions were damaged in the three affected provinces of the western region. These include 28 hospitals, 43 polyclinics, 123 family doctor's offices and 51 other types of clinics. In Artemisa, significant damage is reported in two hospitals, the José Ramón Martínez Pediatric Hospital in Guanajay and the Ciro Redondo García General Hospital in the municipality of Artemisa. (UNCT Cuba, OCHA, 25 Nov 2024)
One of President Donald Trump’s final acts, when he was in office last time, was to re-designate Cuba as a State Sponsor of Terrorism (SSoT), after President Barack Obama had removed them from the list in 2015 as a part of his Cuban thaw. Inclusion on the list subjects a country to restrictions on US foreign aid and financing, but, more importantly, the SSoT list encourages third-party over-compliance with sanctions. “Businesses and financial institutions, including many from outside the United States, often elect to sever all connections to Cuba rather than risk being sanctioned themselves,” The Hill (1/5/24) reported.